Infinite Stratos: Stellar Axis
by SkagthePrinceofHell
Summary: Ichika Orimura was and still is, in his own way, a brilliant star. Yet the sky does not just hold one star. The sky is full of billions of stars. It's just some shine brighter then others. "Second star to the right, and straight on till morning"
1. Chapter 1

**Infinite Stratos: Stellar Axis**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Second Star to His Right

* * *

"-And with that Chifuyu Orimura takes the title of Brynhildr in the first annual Mondo Grosso!" In a small apartment home in Los Angles, a family sits in the living room, watching the Mondo Grosso finale.

"Ha, I told you she'd win!" A young boy exclaims to his older sister as he jumped up from his spot on the floor. "Now pay up!"

"No way! That was a cheap move so it doesn't count!" The sister said in protest as she angrily stood up.

"Nah uh! That was Chifuyu's finishing move, of course it counts!"

"It's not a fighting game dwarf!"

"I'm not a dwarf! You're just older than me! And Mom tell her that Chifuyu won!"

"No she didn't!" The girl added as both bickering siblings turned to their mother who was sitting next to her husband on the couch.

"Max is right Alexis." Their mother said sternly. "Chifuyu won fair and square. If she didn't the judges wouldn't have said she won, right." Their mother stated as she knew she was right and that her daughter was just trying to get out of paying her younger brother.

"Ha, told ya! Now pay up!" Max exclaims as he stuck out his hand to his sister.

"Fine. Still a dirty trick though…" Alexis grumbles as she fishes out a ten dollar bill from her short pocket and placed it in her younger brothers expecting hand.

"Why do you let them bet Rachel? They always end up arguing over the money." The children's father sighs as he unhappily watches his children squabble.

"Oh, don't worry so much honey. The kids aren't going to let something like money get between them so easily." Rachel says as she pat's her husband's shoulder reassuringly. "Isn't that right kids?"

"Yeah dad. Were just two loving, caring, trusting…" Max trails off as he holds the ten dollar bill up to the light to check its authenticity.

"It's real you stupid dwarf! Unlike your cheating girlfriend Chifuyu-" "She's not my- "I'm not one to use such dirty tricks, even on a dwarf like you." Alexis finished as she ignores her brothers protest until she turned her head and smirked at him.

"Oh, and if she isn't then what would you call kissing that poster you got of-" "Shut up you liar! I do not!" Max snapped back as his face turned beet red with embarrassment and anger, though mostly embarrassment.

"Oh, my son has a little crush and with such a pretty girl! ~" The siblings mother said in a sing song voice as she cups her cheek, unable to resist teasing her son a little.

"Mom!" "Well Chifuyu does seem like a fine women son." The boy's father said as he joins in on the fun. "I approve!" The states as he gives his son a big thumbs up and a dumb goofy smile.

"Dad! Mom! I don't have a crush on her!"

"Hmpf! A fine women indeed." His sister said in a huff. ". Well, when I get older I'll easily be better. I'll become the I.S. representative for the U.S. and bet Chifuyu without any of her cheap tricks." Alexis states as she puffs out her chest.

"What? You an I.S. pilot? Don't make me laugh!" Max said as he pretended to hold back his snickering. "Oh, well at least I have a better chance at becoming one then you, dwarf."

Max snickering stopped and his face turned sour. "Yeah, don't' remind me."

He always hated that fact.

Max always dreamed of piloting an I.S. one day, even drawing out how he would want it to look and all the cool stuff it would be able to do. As he saw it, nothing else in the world would be cooler.

I mean not only would he get to fight in a high-tech suit of armor with big guns, swords and all kinds of other cool bells and whistles in high octane aerial combat but he would also get paid for it?! What ten year old boy wouldn't dream of job like that?!

However there was only one small problem with that dream. His gender.

For whatever reason, only women could operate an I.S. So Max, being a boy was born unable to live his dream.

So yeah, it made Max a very dull boy.

'Girls get all the luck.' He thought glumly as he put his ten dollars in his pocket.

"Well, it might not always be like that Alexis." The girl's mother said as she noticed her son's expression and wanted to cheer him up a bit. "Scientist are always working on the I.S. trying to find out its secrets so who knows, one day they may just make an I.S. that boys can use."

"An I.S. for boys…" Max parroted as he looked back at the T.V.

Max watched as the T.V. played back highlights of the fight as he began to imagine himself in that arena, replacing Chifuyu's opponent.

He could see it all.

Clad in his I.S., La Calavera Catrina, the one he designed himself. He was going toe to toe in a battle with Chifuyu as their swords clashed in a tempest of steel and sparks. They continued this dance as they ascend into the heavens and after a brief stalemate both duelist pull back only to charge at each other for one final all in attack.

'Awesome.' The boy thought as he began to drool over his own fantasy.

"Hey, just what are you drooling over you dwarf?" Alexis said as she waved her hand in front of her brother's face and pulling him back to reality.

"I'll do it…" Max mumbled to himself as he wiped away the drool from his face mouth.

"Do what? Make an I.S. that boys can drive?" His sister said mockingly.

"Yeah. That's right!" Her brother proclaimed as a smile of hope came to his face. 'If I can't drive these I.S. I'll just make one that I can!'

"Pfft! You! Make an I.S.? Pffhahaha!" Alexis burst into a fit of laughter at the prospect of her brother building something like an I.S. "Newsflash 'Shinonino', you have to be smart to make an I.S. and with your grades-" "I'll just study harder!" Max said as he cut off his sisters brought up his less than stellar grades.

Compared to his sister who was a straight A student Max fluctuated between C's and D's. He didn't like doing homework and goofed off most of the times in school. Though he did feel a pang of guilt every time his mom or dad saw his report cards and saw their less then proud expressions.

He wanted to do better but he always either got bored or just gave up half way. But now…

"I'll do better in school!" He had a reason to be better. A clear goal. "Not just better, I'll become the top of my class and learn all I can about the I.S.! And when I'm done building it I'll show you that I am way better then you at piloting an I.S. by challenging you and smash your stupid face into the dirt!" Max exclaimed deftly as he pointed his finger at his sister in challenge.

"Max!" His father cried in surprise.

"Yeah, right dwarf! If you fight me I'll just toss your butt in the dirt like always and make you kiss my feet in defeat!" Alexis counters as she lifts her foot and tries to level it with Max's face.

"Alexis!" Her father said with even more of a shock.

"Then it's a beat! Deal!?" Max says as he spits into his hand and extends it to Alexis.

"Max that's-" "Deal!" Their father began until Alexis cut him off, spitting into her own hand and sealing their beat with a firm handshake.

"Max! Alexis! That's unsanitary! Go wash your hands! Right! Now!" "Eep!" Their father yelled making the siblings yelp and mother chuckle as they ran out of the living room and down the hall to the bathroom.

As they ran down the hall Alexis notice that it was taking a lot longer than it usually did. Slowing to a stop she looked around and noticed the hallway was getting darker and was beginning to stretch out.

"Max?" Alexis called out with a hint of fear in her tone but as she turned he head Max was already farther down the hallway and getting further still.

"Max!" Alexis cried out as she began to run after him. As she was running though she didn't feel like she was getting any closer to him. "Max!" Crying out again for her brother she began to panic as the hallway became even darker as the darkness itself looked like it was pulling itself close around her.

"Max! Max!" As Alexis continued to cry out the darkness grew, darker and closer as her brother became farther and smaller, becoming a small dot in the distance.

"Max! Ma-!" Alexis was cut off as her mouth was wrapped closed by a shadow. As she tried to pull free of it more shadows wrapped around her and began to drag her down into the darkness behind her. Struggling to get free her eyes cried out in terror for someone to save her as she felt her consciousness begin to slipping away.

'Max!'

'Max!'

Alexis tried to scream in vain as she was pulled further into the darkness, her vision fading to complete black.

'Max!'

'Max!'

'Max.'

'Ma-'

'…'

* * *

'Max!' "Uhhha!" Alexis eyes shoot open as she awoke from her nightmare and began to take in her surroundings.

No longer was she in her childhood home in Los Angeles as her twelve year old self. Right now she was looking up at the roof of a tunnel she remembered was in Washington D.C.

"But why am I-!" Alarm bells literally started to ring in her head as she realized she was clad in her I.S., Storm Hawk, as flashing red warning lights accompanying alarms went off directly into her mind. The on-screen prompts told her that her Storm Hawk had activated its emergency protocols to protect its pilot.

"But why would- The bomb!" Alexis began to recall as her I.S. enhanced conciseness began to take full effect. It all came back to her in seconds. Meeting her brother at the airport, talking on their way to their house and the bomb placed in the tunnels going off.

With the situation fully grasped Alexis switched her I.S.'s sensors over to look for heat and other vitals to help look for Max while cursing herself for not being able to protect him.

'Dammit! Why couldn't I protect him?! I have this damn armor with an Absolute Defense! Then why couldn't I-!' "Max!" After moving her head about looking for her brother her sensors located him underneath some rubble a bit a ways from the destroyed limbos they were taking to their house.

After carefully removing the rubble Alexis heart began to sink as she saw the state her brother was in. His skin was pale and burnt on his left side as a pool of blood was forming around the base of the piece of rubble he was on. Pieces of shrapnel from the limbos window, fiberglass door chassis and some metal that might have been from the bomb were littered on his left leg and a nasty looking piece of metal was lodged in his heart. He was taking in shallow breaths and her I.S. could only sense a faint heartbeat.

"No…No, No, No, No, No! Max please don't die on me!" Alexis cried but did nothing else as she feared touching him in anyway might just be the final nail in the coffin. Frantically she began to think, having her I.S. give her any possible ideas to try and save him.

Her sensors indicated the bomb went off five minutes ago and that Max had lost approximately a liter and a half of blood. Her armor told her that removing the big chunk of metal near his heart from him would only kill him faster. However it also indicated that Max would only have, at most, thirty to forty more minutes to live without proper treatment and being caved in like this would mean that help wouldn't be coming in time to save him.

'Dammit! There has to be something I can do!" Alexis looked through every part of her mind trying to recall anything she could to try and give her brother more time. "What the hell does it matter that I have the most advance piece of tech on the planet if I can't even use it to save my brother?!"

Looking to his pale, burnt and dying form Alexis couldn't help but cry. She was supposed to be his older sister. She was supposed to protect him. Yet here she was unable to do anything of real help as she watched her brother slowly die right in front of her.

"Max please wake up! If you can hear me then help! I can't think of anything and you're the one who was always trying to find out how to make the I.S. a true tool to help humanity!" With nothing else she could think of Alexis began to plead with her brother to wake up and help her. "You have been doing all that research on the I.S to make your own so you must have come across something to help now! You must have come up with-! Your research…" After crying out to him for a few moments Alexis began scan Max's pockets and then around him until she found a memory device.

The device was encase in strong protective alloy cover that Max had bought to protect it. Contained in the device all the data and research her brother had on anything to do with the I.S. From its anti-gravity systems, to the Absolute Defense, its interface and enhanced reaction and response systems. Ever part of what made the I.S. an I.S. And Alexis downloaded it directly into her own.

The information was being fed directly into her mind and she was scouring every inch of it trying to find anything related to the application of the I.S. in the field of medicine.

'Found it!' It took her less than a minute.

"-The I.S. de/re-materializing storage function as well as its self-repair an adaption protocol could, in theory, be used to preform precise body reconstruction by bonding to an existing body part or organ in an emergency situation and where help cannot arrive fast enough. This process would require an I.S. core be placed into or by whatever damage part needs repairing as the system to control the reconstructing is the core itself. However this would prove to be a challenge to a male in need of assistance as the I.S. will most likely not respond to them even if it is remotely activated and might even reject-"

Reading more to see if she missed anything Alexis unhesitantly put her I.S. in its stand-by mode and slowly prepared herself to place her I.S. into her brother. She knew that it might not work but she also knew not trying at all would mean her brother would defiantly die so she was willing to chance it. Deciding that the damage around his heart was the priority Alexis removed the piece of metal from Max's body and placed her I.S. into him.

Blood covered her hands as it began to flow freely from the wound and Alexis immediately covered it with the torn sleeve of her shirt she prepared as she tried to remotely activate her I.S. to repair Max's damaged body.

She felt queasy from the sight and smell of the blood. Forcing the bile back down, she tried to calm herself as best she could, all the while repeating to herself that if she didn't get her I.S. to activate, that if she didn't do all she could to try and save him, Max would surly die.

And she would not let that happen.

"Please Max. Let this work…" With a whispered, the girl prayed for a miracle.

…

..

.

And with the light of the setting sun…

* * *

"-And now for World News. Researchers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia have picked up-" As he was waiting in his room to use the shower, Ichika absent mindedly listened to a news report on T.V.

At the moment, Earths 8th wonder of the world was having a good long think session about his position in life at the moment.

Now, close to 6:30 am might not be the best time to be thinking about great, meaningful questions, like ones place in the world or one's life at large but he figured he wouldn't have the time (or the concentration) to do so later. Doing so in class would be a detriment to his already poor grasp of the I.S. lessons (as well as his skull if Chifuyu's lesson planner had any say in the matter). Trying to do so during the time he spent with his friends was also a no-no as he needed to focus his entire being on them to try not to piss any of them off (more so then he usually did) as he rather not be spaced out if they said anything important 'Which they seem to think is everything they say.' He thought to himself with a bit of annoyance. And after all the training with Houki he usually ended up having only an hour or two to study after getting dinner and taking a bath. Then it was straight to bed to do it all over again.

Recalling all of this, Ichika couldn't help but think how hectic his routine had become. And that wasn't even counting the times life gave the occasional curve ball, like the unmanned drone that attacked the school or when he as his friends faced off against the rouge I.S.

'Man-' Ichika began to think as he laid back into his bed and brought his right hand into view. Clamped to his wrist was his I.S. Byakushushi in its stand-by mode.

'-if I never gotten lost that day I would have never found that I.S. in the gymnasium, end up turning it on and would have never been forced to come here. I would be living a normal life, attending a normal high school and would only be connected to anything extraordinary through Chifuyu-nee. Then again-'

With a sigh and a shake of his head Ichika recalled all the fun he has had as well. Getting to patching things up with Houki, and meeting Rin again. Befriending Cecilia, Char's and Laura. And even he had to admit, being the only guy in the world who could pilot his own mech was pretty cool.

"-I guess I wouldn't change anything." The youngest Orimura muttered to himself as he heard the water in the shower stop. After a few minutes he was greeted to the sight of his roommate, Charlotte Dunois, coming out of the bathroom dressed in her school uniform looking as fresh as a morning daisy.

"Ichika, I'm done with the shower now. I'll see you in the cafeteria!" With that quick goodbye, the female occupant of his dorm grabbed her school bag and headed out of their dorm.

'Well, I could do with being in my own dorm…' The very much male Ichika Orimura thought to himself as he still wonder why Charlotte is rooming with him still even after they found out she was a girl.

"It's not like I would do anything to her and I know she and Chifuyu-nee trust me and all but-" Grumbling to himself about how improper it all was the young man got up from his bed and made his way to the shower.

"-it's the principle of the thing." Sighing to himself Ichika removed his clothing in quick order and once in the shower let the refreshing feeling of water help fully wake him to truly begin his day.

* * *

"Well, it's pointing me to this one…man I hope this is the right one and don't end up making the girls here think I'm a pervert with this stunt." The young man holding the strange tracking device sighed to himself.

"Then again, first impressions are important right." He said with a mischievous smile.

* * *

*knock knock knock *

"Hmm? Wonder who that could be?" As he dried his hair Ichika heard a knocking coming from outside the bathroom.

Quickly throwing on his uniform minus the blazer Ichika exited the bathroom and opened the front door.

"Yes, hm?" Looking out into the hallway and turning his head left to right Ichika could see that no one was there.

Closing the door the boy rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "A prank this early in the morning? Though not a lot of people are here during summer break so who-"

*knock knock knock*

Hearing the same knocking again Ichika realized it was coming from the behind him. More specifically outside on the terrace behind the closed curtains.

'What the, could it be Laura?' Recalling the cute, eye patch wearing, German, soldier girl and the many times she snuck into his room through one means or another. He wouldn't be terribly surprised to think she would do this but usually she wouldn't knock like this. Or do it when the sun was up.

'Well I guess she figured it be a bother to Char's if she kept barging in without permission.' The naïve Orimura thought to himself with a stupid smile unaware of how little a maiden in love cared about 'tact'. Especially one with military training and thinks of you as their bride.

"Hey, Laura, good mor-" having pulled back the curtain and sliding glass door in one smooth motion Ichika words caught in his throat in surprise.

Instead of seeing the girl Laura Bodewig, Ichika instead saw a young man, a half a head taller than him with a messy head of black unkempt hair and a dark olive complexion. On his person were a pair of blue jeans a plain red t-shirt and what looked to be a high tech dowsing rod in his right hand.

"Hm? I don't know any Laura but I do know who you are and I'm glad I got the right room! Man it would have been bad if I knocked on the wrong glass door and had a scared girl scream and call the cops on me." The boy said with a thankful chuckle.

Ichika being brought out of his stunned surprise acted on instinct and pulled the young man inside his room, locked the sliding door, close the curtains, locked his main door and turned to meet the boy in what seem to be a blink of an eye.

"Are you crazy?!" Ichika belittled the young man, who he definitely thought had a death wish in an agitated whisper.

"You know where you are right?! A guy can't be here!"

"Oh, so your actually a girl then? How the hell did you fool the-" "You know what I mean!" The young man began to snark back before Ichika silenced him.

Ichika was honestly worried for this guy's safety as, unlike himself, the guy before him didn't have an excuse to be here. Ichika did here from Chifuyu that some of the more clever (horny/desperate) guys did sneak on to this artificial island once before but no one ever heard from them again when she got a hold of them.

If this guy was smart enough to get here Ichika might be able to convince him to leave before he was found and would suffer the divine wrath of Chifuyu's lesson planner.

"Look, I don't know who you are but-" "Oh right, the names Max!" Ichika began before he was cut off by the now named boy extending a hand to him in greeting.

Dumbly taking his hand and shaking it Ichika continued. "Um, right Max. Right. Listen you have to leave. If Chifu- I mean the staff or any of the girls find out your here your going to be in big trouble so-" And again, Max held out his hand to stop Ichika's words.

"Ah, say no more! I get it. You don't want anyone cramping your style right? I mean I can understand you not wanting any competition what with you being the only guy on this island. Must be nice, huh?" Max said as he nudged Ichika in the ribs in jest and wiggled his eyebrows.

"What, no! That's not what I-" "Don't worry man, I just came here to see if there really was a guy here in this Garden of Lilies." Saying these flamboyant words Max began walked over to the sliding door to the terrace and opened it.

"I will take up no more of your morning good sir so-" Turning to face Ichika Max walked backwards up to the edge of the terrace and- "Adios, amigo."

He fell over the edge.

"What the-?!" Ichika ran out to the terrace and was about to look over to see what happened to him but an ashen blur came up from below and the pressure it created from its updraft made him fall back onto the terrace floor.

Clamoring back up in shock Ichika used the terrace edge to lift himself up and looked up into the sky to see something that, though hypocritical coming from him, should have been impossible.

"So, what do you think-"

Max started as he floated down to meet Ichika's gaze with him looking down on him from his slightly higher position. A mischievous smile on his face as he saw Ichika's dumbfounded face.

The armor was mainly ashen white, accented with blood red and night blue plates around the gauntlets, greaves, and the rib cage area of the armor. The chest plate had a glowing orange center around where his heart would be. His head was adorn with a crown like regalia that's was a stark black save for lights that made it look like a daisy chain made of roses. Floating above his head was a halo like device that was the same shade of red and blue. His anti-gravity wings were shaped like western coffins, ashen white and assented with the same shade of red and blue.

"-Of my I.S., La Calavera Catrina?"

Ichika was at a loss for words.

Sure he had an I.S. but he was supposed to be the exception. The norm was no other guy was supposed to be able to use the I.S. for whatever reason. This was basically the impossible done twice in about six months from each other.

'Wait a second.' Ichika also thought this a few months back. The day when Charlotte Dunois introduced herself as a boy do to her father trying to manipulate her.

So perhaps-

"Hey, you in there?"

*snikt snikt* The sound of Max snapping his clawed, metal, right hand brought Ichika out of his stunned stupor.

"Oh, so that's what snapping my claws sound like. Cool." Max said offhandly as he faced Ichika again with a good natured smile.

"So like I said, what do you think?"

"Um, well… Don't take this the wrong way but…you're not a girl by any chance that's pretending to be a boy for a I.S. company by any chance?" Ichika asked hesitantly as the only way he found out Char's was a girl was walking into her naked in the shower. If it wasn't for that he would have never thought to ask if she was actually a boy.

Also if 'Max' was really a girl in the same situation Char's was in then 'Max' might not admit it out right.

But then again, who knows? It worked to be straight forward sometimes.

* * *

"?!" "?!" "?!" "?!" "?!"

For some unknown reason, Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura all felt a weird chill go down there spines. It felt like some great and profound thing was stated yet they couldn't tell what it was or grasp it's true meaning.

* * *

"Hm, uh well." Rubbing his claws palm on the back of his head, Max dematerialized La Calavera Catrina and dropped down onto the terrace with Ichika.

"I mean I could tell you but it's probably better to show you, huh." Max rhetorically said as he took off his shirt and then began to take off his pants.

"Hey, woah, woah, woah! T-That's okay! That flat chest of yours is plenty enough evidence for me. I mean no girl can be that flat right?"

* * *

"?!" "?!"

Again, for some reason, a weird chill ran down Rin and Laura's spines. However this chill instead made them feel angry for some strange reason and they reflexively put their hands to their modest chest in... embarrassment?

* * *

"Apologize to all the girls in the world with flat chest this instant dude. Even if I do have a flat chest doesn't necessarily mean I'm not a girl you know." Max said with a tone that seem to fay offense but also seemed to genially fell some offense to Ichika's statement.

"Uh, sorry?"

…

"So does that mean you are a girl then…?" Ichika asked again in confusion.

"Well no, but I thought I should say that for all the flat chested girls out there. I mean, you don't need DD boobs to be seen as a girl's right?" Max stated as he scratch the back of his head and laughed bashfully.

"Uh yeah. That is true."

* * *

"?!"

For some unknown reason, all the flat chested girls of the I.S. Academy felt some sort of chill run down there spine. However this chill felt nice for some reason. Like some sort of 'Justice' was seen to and it filled their hearts with a bit of pride and put a spring in there step.

"What the heck is going on today?" Rin and Laura questioned in unison as they thought they might be sick or something.

* * *

"So, um, do you believe I'm a guy or not?"

"Huh? Oh, uh sure. I believe you."

…

..

.

The two male I.S. pilots stared at each other for a bit, unsure of what to say to each other now that there short discussion on female anatomy was done.

…

..

.

"Um, could you put your shirt back on?" "Oh, uh right!"

…

..

.

The awkward atmosphere continued to linger until Max decide to blast it away.

"Okay, this too awkward so how about this. Have you had breakfast yet?" Thinking since he was sort of the one to create this awkward atmosphere he should be the one to dispel it.

"Oh, uh no. Not yet. Do you want to-" "Yeah. But, uh, maybe you should go and bring the food here seeing as how you're the only one I showed that I could use an I.S. and all. How about I tell you that story as we eat?"

After agreeing, Ichika went to go get them some breakfast as he told Max he could wait on his bed till he got back.

'Another _**ACTUAL MALE**_ I.S. pilot.' Ichika thought with a small smile forming on his face as he walked down the hall to the cafeteria.

"Hope we can be friends."

* * *

Max was sitting on Ichika's bed and looking around absentmindedly as he finally felt the weight of the situation real sink in.

"I'm in the I.S. academy." Max said with a breathy laugh.

"Wow. And it's all thanks to this…" In a more solemn tone.

Bringing his left hand to his chest he could feel the vibration of his I.S. core, La Calavera Catrina core, where his heart was supposed to be.

'Then again; you are my heart now, La Calavera Catrina. Thanks to that fateful day three months ago I am now the second male alive to be able to use an I.S.'

As he thought this Max couldn't help but lay down on the bed he was on and break out into a smile.

Looking towards the door Max's thoughts began to ponder onto his soon to be new roommate.

'So that was Ichika Orimura huh? Well, seems like a nice enough guy. But man, wonder how he felt being the only guy on thi-'

*sniff sniff*

"Is that perfume I smell?" Max questioned as he thought his mind was starting to play tricks on him.

"I mean, even if he was the only guy living on an island full of girls there is no way they would have actually let him dorm with one. No guys that…lucky…?"

Max's face faltered for a bit as he questioned the concept of 'Luck'

"…"

'But isn't the situation were both in rather lucky?'

* * *

Authors Notes:

Well I'm back. Don't know why I left. I got bored for some reason of doing my Bleach: Death 101 but I got bored again and thought it would be best to get back into it by using this idea I have had for around the same amount of time as Bleach: Death 101.

Considering Infinite Stratos didn't really have an overarching plot beyond being a harem anime with mech suits I thought it would be easy to insert a plot into it. For it I have used the time and trusted method to making something better. Don't even know why this hasn't been done before.

I mean that's what the I.S. was originally supposed to be use for and all.

That's the hint for where the story will end up.

And yeah I know. A second male I.S. pilot is. Gee, how "totally original"

...

..

.

-but who says it only needs to stop at two?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Machinations of a Mad Women

* * *

Alexis eyes were blinded by light that was colored like a setting sun. Reflexively, she held up both her arms to shield her eyes from the light.

The lights intensity remained for about ten odd seconds before it finally began to dim and fade away.

Realizing this, Alexis began to carefully open her eyes to see that her gamble had seemed too have paid off.

Laying in front of her was her brother Max in a much better state then moments ago. Sure, his cloths were still in tatters and burnt but all his wounds seemed to be fully healed. Not just that but all the shrapnel from the explosion must have been pushed out and removed from his body as well as far more of said shrapnel pieces were scattered around him or laying harmlessly on top of his chest. He was now breathing at a far more normal rate and for all intent and purposes he looked like he was just asleep.

Though that wasn't the most surprising thing she noticed.

Alexis could see a faint, pulsating, orange glow emanating from his chest.

Lifting a hesitant hand over his chest, Alexis placed it gently onto him and felt not a heartbeat but the low hum of a machine. The hum of her I.S.'s core.

Wanting to make sure she wasn't deluding herself Alexis carefully lowered her head over Max's chest and heard her I.S.'s core humming away and felt the rhythmic rise and fall of Max's breathing.

Tears began to run down her face again. These however were ones of joy and relief as she lifted her head and let out a small whisper as if to cement her thoughts into her heart.

"It worked Max…It worked."

* * *

"Wait… so you're telling me you have… an I.S. core for a heart now?" Ichika said in disbelief as he limply held his chopsticks in his hand.

The two boys were both eating a standard Japanese breakfast as Max said if he was in Japan he might as well try out the local cuisine and that he wasn't that much of a picky eater to begin with.

It consisted of some grilled fish, a small bowl of white rice, miso soup and a small package of natto for flavoring.

After thanking him for the meal Max asked if there was any problems getting back from the cafeteria. Ichika said that he ran into one of his friends name Charlotte who was waiting for him but was able to shake her off after he said he was going to eat in their dorm and do some 'guy stuff'.

Not knowing what this could imply to a girl himself, Ichika became confused and slightly worried when Charlotte's face grew bright red as she began to back away from him and saying incoherent things "Oh! I-I-I-see!We-well you're a guy ssss-so I can't blame you for nee-ee-edding! Some alone time! Yes! Right!"

Making a 180 degree heel turn Charlotte made a mad dash away from him in embarrassment, shouting back to him in one breath

"HaveagoodtimeIchikaI'lljustmeetupwithLaurasotakeyourtime!"

After hearing this Max tried his best not to laugh his ass off as he didn't want to let anyone else know that he was here yet. Looking about Max saw the pillows on both beds and took them to cover his face as he let all of his laughter out into them.

After calming down a bit and assuring Ichika he was fine Max realized that one of the pillows he was holding smelled an awful lot like perfume which only further made him suspect that Ichika and him might be some of the luckiest bastards in the world.

Not wanting to open up that can of worms just yet Max instead opted to do what he wanted to do in the first place and explain his situation to Ichika first before he asked the same in return.

That brings us to the present as Max put his food onto the tray Ichika brought along with the food, lifted up his shirt and materialized the right gauntlet of his I.S. After doing so the area where his heart would be began to glow.

"I know it's a bit faint but can you see an orange glow?" Ichika nodded dumbly to Max's question as Max dematerialized his I.S. gauntlet and the glow faded away.

"It only really glows when I activate my I.S. fully but you can see it a bit even now as it is actively being my heart and pumping blood throughout my body." Max stated matter of factly as he began to explain the details a bit more.

"You know how an I.S. can be continuously upgraded and adapt itself by gathering data and such right? Well, that trait was carried over when the I.S. core activated within me. It not only healed my wounds but began to upgrade me to a certain extent. It mainly focused on becoming my new heart but it did integrate itself into my body so it gave me some lower end versions of what an I.S. pilot gets when there piloting one. Mainly it heighten my senses as well as my reflexes. Not only that but it seems to also have made my body more efficient as I have loss some unnecessary body fat and my muscles and bones have been refined." The technical cyborg stated as he flexed his muscles a bit and smirked.

"Pretty cool huh?"

"Wow." Ichika could only state his amazement in a single word as, for the most part, he was dumbfounded at what he was learning.

"I know right. Though, Taby says even though La Calavera Catrina is improving me it won't be as dramatic as what she has done to herself as, how she puts it 'What the I.S. has done to you is pretty much just a high end patch job' as even if the I.S. has infinite possibilities I as a human have my own upper limits." Max finished as he began to finish through his food already as another of the side effects of having the I.S. implanted was his appetite grew to keep up with his body.

Ichika didn't realize this though as he caught something specific about what Max had said.

"Wait, as dramatic as hers? Taby?"

"Hm, oh right! I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet. Well, Taby is what I call her, though given the ears it might need a better nickname. Maybe Reisen?" Max muttered to himself as he began to ponder a bit before shaking his head so he wouldn't get off topic.

"Anyway! You and the world know her as Tabane Shinonono." "Wait! What?! You know Tabane?!" Ichika stood up in surprise, nocking his breakfast to the floor.

"Ah, man…" Ichika side as he went to the bathroom to get a towel to wipe up the mess. Seeing this Max decided to put down his own food and clean up as well.

"Oh, you don't need to-" "It's fine man. Besides, I'm used to cleaning up back at home. Anyway where was I? Oh right! Well after seeing I wasn't going to die-"

* * *

Figuring it be best to let Max wake up on his own and not knowing what would happen if she began to move rubble out of the way by herself, Alexis sat by her brother's side in anxious silence, waiting to be rescued.

She couldn't tell how long it took. Maybe an hour or so? But Max eventually woke up with a moan and Alexis couldn't help but grasp him in a surprise hug.

"Woah?! A-Alexis?! What are you-?!" "I thought I lost you…" Alexis said in barely a whisper but having her head buried in the nape of his neck Max could hear it.

"Wait, lost what do you- What the hell's going-?!" "It was a bomb Max. Someone tried to kill us." After getting over her joy of seeing her brother up again, Alexis plainly told Max what had happen and what she did to save him.

Placing a hand and his vision on his chest Max could feel the I.S. core and see its faint pulsating glow.

Max could only stare for a moment as he was still letting what just happened and what it meant sink in.

"So, you mean I have-" "Yeah, though I don't exactly know what it means all I do know is that it worked and your alive, Dwarf." Calling him by his 'nickname' she pulled him into another relived hug and him returning it this time, though a bit awkwardly.

"Well, might still need to run some more test but I guess I can say the applications of the I.S. as emergency organ replacement for men isn't a theory anymore huh?" "Heh, always the geek huh Dwarf?" Alexis said in jest as she giggled.

"Come on Alexis. You can't keep calling me Dwarf anymore. I'm a whole foot taller then you now." "And you're still my little brother so nope." Alexis said as she tussled up her brother's hair and helped him stand up.

"So, you think there sending someone after us?" Alexis said as she took on a serious tone.

"Defiantly. Whoever set this up would want a body to show to mom. Though maybe not so much a body but you specifically as if they wanted me as well they wouldn't have just set bombs up all over the tunnel but instead just the entrance and exit." Max stated matter of factly as he looked about the area.

* * *

"Show your mom?" Ichika questioned as he was wiping up the miso soup.

"Yeah, Rachel Valdez. The president of the United States." Max said as he picked up the pieces of grilled fish that went under the bed.

"Oh…Wait! You're moms the president?!" After his brain caught up with what he heard Ichika's head shoot up as well as some of the grease of the miso soup covered rag he was holding.

"Hey dude! Watch it! And yeah, I know it's a little surprising to just hear all this stuff in one go but shouldn't you be a little numb to surprises by now, considering?" Max said as he wiped some of the miso soup off his face.

"What do you mean?" Ichika said as he blinked in confusion.

Max himself now had to blink in Ichika's direction as he recalled what Tabane said about how Ichika was a bit slow on the uptake and could only sigh in resignation.

"Come on man. You found out a couple months ago that you could pilot an I.S. that up until then were only able to be piloted by woman. You fought against other I.S. pilots and even rouge or unmanned ones and just this morning I have revealed to you that you're not the only male in the world that can us an I.S. anymore and not even twenty minutes ago I told you I have an I.S. for a heart and that I meet Tabane Shinonono, the worlds most wanted but elusive person. Does me being the president's son really surprise you all that much?" Max said in a flat tone as he gave an equally flat stare in Ichika's direction.

Ichika paused at that. Looking towards the ceiling as he thought he realized that he was just told the same things he was thinking about just an hour ago as well as what he learned in the last forty odd minutes. Considering all of this he did feel like he should have gain some resilience to surprises, but still…

"Huh… I mean, I get what you're saying but yeah it's still surprising to me. I mean isn't it normal to be surprised when someone just tells you such incredible things like there the son of the president of The United States of America or that they met someone like Tabane?"

"And you would consider us normal?" Max chuckled out as he realized just how apt Tabane's description of Ichika being 'slow' was. He however failed to realize just how slow someone could really be and that this was just the tip of the iceberg that was how inept Ichika Orimura could be sometimes.

"Though if you could save the rest of your surprises and questions till the end of the story I would appreciate it." "Oh, sorry. Please continue."

"Thanks. Well, to speed things up yeah some guys came after us and it ended up turning into the first time I used my I.S."

* * *

"Hey do you hear that?" Max asked as his ears perked up to hear what sounded like hissing. And it was getting louder.

"Yeah actually. What-?" Alexis was about to say before she saw some dust fall from above and then she and Max both realized that something was coming down to them.

"Guess that's how they're coming in." Max said with a grimace as he put a hand to his chest in anxiousness.

'Okay, let's asset the situation.' Max was a bit surprise about how calm he was feeling right now. Sure he was a bit anxious but given the situation

'A group of people and at least one I.S. pilot is coming for us or more specifically Alexis and her I.S. and now that very same I.S. is inside me so shouldn't I be a little more- Wait? Inside me?'

Looking to his chest Max realized why he felt so calm at the moment.

'I know it healed me and all but I couldn't possibly…' As he thought this a dangerous grin crept onto Max's face at the prospect the situation presented him.

"Sis, stay behind me." Max said as he moved in front of Alexis and pushed her back a bit so they wouldn't be directly under where the enemy would appear from.

"Max? Wait, what are you thinking?" "I think I'm going to be testing my luck a bit." Max told the worried Alexis in the best reassuring voice he could muster. However, he couldn't hid the obvious excitement in his voice or the almost feral grin he had on right now.

"Max…" If Alexis wasn't worried before she sure as hell was now.

The smile on her brother's face was actually scaring her a bit. It was the smile he had on when he did his experiments back at home.

It was an expression that meant 'I don't know what might happen but let's try it anyway!'

This usually was followed up with an explosion or a blackout for the neighborhood and their father was trying to calm the neighbors.

"Max, you don't know if you can actually materialize Storm Hawk right?! Sure it may have healed you but-!" "But if I don't try they'll just kidnap us." Max's stated calmly as he looked back at Alexis over his shoulder.

Alexis knew she couldn't convince him but a part of her brain said to at least try.

"They are most likely after your I.S. right, but now it's inside me. Sure they may take both of us as leverage but once they find out your I.S. isn't on you but inside me then they wouldn't hesitate to cut me open and take it. Hell, they'll probably experiment on me after, cause you know if these guys are crazy enough to stage all of this just to get your I.S. then there sure as hell don't care about the consequences." Max continued to state in a disturbingly calm voice.

"And I don't know about you-" Max began as he placed his hand back on his chest. "-but I'm sure as hell not going to let them take us so easily."

In the beginning Alexis knew Max had always been steadfast in trying to reach his goal of creating an I.S. for guys ever since he was little. However that goal changed somewhat when he grew older.

As he truly began his studies into the I.S. and not just his regular school work he began to notice how much potential humanity was wasting with the I.S.

The most advance research on the I.S. was in military application and development even though the Alaska Treaty prevented the I.S. us in warfare, well open warfare. However there was scant few research or even mention of its use in other fields such as medicine, renewable power source, construction, and heck! The second most research field for I.S. applications was in its original development as a space suit and yet there haven't even been attempts to colonize Mars yet; much less developing an I.S. unit specifically for interstellar exploration as most of those research facilities were turned into labs geared towards weaponzing it.

Max couldn't help but be appalled by what he was seeing. The Infinite Stratos was supposed to be this machine with infinite possibilities. It was in the name for goodness sake! And yet what most of the world seem to care about was using it as a weapon against each other.

Of course the I.S. really was the most advance and deadliest weapon humanity had every witness. Of that, no one was not arguing but it was so much more than that!

So his goal from that point onward was to research anyway he can us the I.S. to improve humanity and make everyone's lives better.

But at the moment he saw his dream being trampled upon.

Some jackasses were willing to bomb an entire tunnel, getting hundreds of unrelated people involved just to try and steal his sister, her I.S. and probably leave him for dead or possibly also us as leverage against his mother?

He might not know if he could activate the I.S. in his chest right now. He might not know if he could fight his way through them and still protect his sister.

But she was sure of two things.

Max knew if he didn't try then the result was inevitable bad for them. She also knew that he was both pissed and yet, somehow overjoyed at the prospect of solving this new problem with a mech.

So it came as no surprise to her what happened next.

"Activate! Infinite Stratos!"

* * *

"One minute till we punch through Ma'am." "Good. Men, do your final checks and ready for capture!"

Surveying her men, Anna Troy saw all of them checking over there weapons and making sure there jet boosters were working properly.

In less than a minute the laser drill they had going would punch through to the underground tunnel about one-hundred feet below them.

Their target was one of the United States I.S. candidate, Alexis Valdez and her I.S. unit Storm Hawk.

Anna didn't like the fact that they were doing this operation in mid-day but knew it was there best chance at capturing there target.

For one thing they couldn't just take her when she was at the I.S. Academy for obvious reasons and they couldn't take her at night when she got home because Alexis mother was Rachel Valdez, the president of the United States and the security at the White House would be just as troublesome as the I.S. Academy. They also couldn't just rig her jet to blow or intercept her at the airport do to the fact the target could easily get away from them by activating her I.S., let alone its pesky abilities.

Storm Hawk had the ability to manipulate air currents though nano-machines and an electrical magnetic field it produces to act as a shield that would redirect enemy fire from standard munitions to anti-transport munitions and would rip apart anything else that didn't get redirected. It was also able to create localized electrical attacks by making the particle's in the air rub past each other creating a static charge much like an actual thunder storm and enhance it with the it's electrical field. Not only that, Storm Hawk was supposed to be one of the fastest and most agile I.S. that was every developed sans the White Knight created by Tabane Shinonono herself.

So there best chance of capturing Alexis and her I.S. would be by sealing her movements and hinder Storm Hawks air manipulation ability.

As soon as Alexis touched down and was on route to the White House Anna had her men redirect her limbo to the underground tunnel through manipulation of traffic lights, a well place car accident here and a lucky coincidence that there target came back home during a time when the government had roadwork being done.

They had set up in a building that was right above the underground tunnel a week before Alexis would come home and were preparing to drill down using a laser drill usually used for undersea mining operations.

As soon as the limbo was about to pass under the capture zone her men activated the explosives and trapped Alexis and about hundred and so people in the tunnel as they had the drill begin boring its way towards them.

The regular civilians were of no concern of hers or her men as all there cared about was acquiring Storm Hawk and its pilot for their leader who had sent other mercenary units to acquire other I.S. units and there pilots.

For what reason she didn't know or cared to know. So long as it wouldn't get her or her men killed and they were paid it was fine by her.

"Thirty seconds!"

Hearing this Anna turned to see her men done with their preparations and readying up to jump down after her into the hole to their target.

All of them were equipped with black insulated full body suits, gas mask and jump boosters that would cushion there fall and increase their agility. They were all wielding modified AR Assault Rifles with I.S. shield disrupter rounds that would help deplete their targets shield energy faster and leave it with nothing more than the Absolute Defense.

Anna herself was strapped into a modified version of the Uchigane model that was used by the I.S. Academy. It was far more bulky unit that boasted an even higher defensive abilities then the standard model. It was also equipped with single target suppression and exceled at CQC. The perfect tool to capture Storm Hawk in a confined area they trapped it in.

"Ten seconds! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!"

Taking point, her men surrounded the hole. They were to jump first and begin the actual assault against the target as she would stay right under the hole to make sure there target wouldn't be able to make a B-line to the only exit and provide suppression as the rest of her men depleted its shield energy and then all of them would go in for the capture.

"Five!"

In the end this was a standard operation.

"Four!"

They crippled there enemy.

"Three!"

Created the playing field and gave themselves the absolute advantage.

"Two!"

They accounted for everything they could possibly think of that could mess this up and made sure this operation would go all according to plan.

"One!"

Nothing short of divine intervention could mess this operation up and Anna wasn't one to believe in God.

"Go! Go! Go!"

On queue her men jumped in and as Anna waited to jump down herself she couldn't help but let a small smile form on her lips.

'Easy money.'

Anna counted to five and jumped down after her men.

She didn't know it then, but there perfect plan was destined to fail from the start. All because they didn't account for one thing.

Or more specifically, one person.

* * *

"I.S. core number 125 undergoing refitting." An electronic woman's voice said to the surprise of the labs sole occupant at the moment.

"Oh my, this looks like it might be interesting~ Computer, activate 125's cameras and send the fed to the Big Screen please~!" A bubbly voice called out as she pushed a few buttons on her chair.

In moments her research chair turned about face and move towards the observation area of her lab. The woman's chair stopped in front of a giant wall mounted curved monitor that was now showing the 360 degree visuals of I.S. core 125's pilot. It was currently showing an underground tunnel system that seemed to have been destroyed in a terrorist attack as rumble could been seen from either sides of the pilot and a charred and wrecked limbo was behind a shocked girl behind the pilot.

" _Shit. I had a feeling this would happen."_ The pilot said in a surprisingly male voice.

"Hm? Even more surprising~ Computer, identify the current pilot of 125 please~" The bubbly woman asked as she continued to listen to the people on screen.

" _Max, why does Storm Hawk look like how I first got her?"_ The girl on screen questioned as the woman's suspicions were answered even before her computers identified the pilot.

"Oh goodie~! A new friend for Ikk-kun~! And even more fun for me to watch~" As the woman began to become even more excited the popcorn she had her chair prepared was brought to her by her adopted daughter Chloe.

"Mother, here is the popcorn you asked for and some soda I thought you would like to wash it down with." "Ah~ Thank you, thank you Ku-chan~! You're the best~!" Taking the bowl of popcorn in hand Tabane Shinonono grabbed a handful and tossed it into her mouth as her daughter placed the cup of soda in the research chairs cup holder.

"Pilots identity found. Max Valdez. Age 16. Birth: December 25th 20-" "Yeah, yeah, yeah~ Get to the good parts please~" Tabane told her computer as it began to get to the more interesting aspects of Max Valdez.

"The son and second child of the United States president, Rachel Valdez and younger brother of U.S.A.'s third I.S. candidate, Alexis Valdez. Max Valdez is a straight A student who has been doing research into the I.S. for near five years. He has stated in an interview after winning a national science fair that he is planning to become an independent researcher for applications of the I.S. outside of weapons development as, in his own words "for something with the word 'Infinite' in its name we humans seem to like restraining it's uses to weapons development even though multiple nations signed a treaty so the I.S. would never be used in warfare-seems like a lot of wasted time, money and resources to me." The computers artificial voice reported as Tabane and Chloe listen attentively.

"Heh, heh~ He just keeps getting better and better~! Oh right~! Where is he right now computer~?" Tabane asked with her mouth full of popcorn.

"Currently in Washington DC in the North Central Freeways main tunnel. Warning. The North Central Freeway tunnel has been closed due to explosives going off and collapsing sections of the tunnel system. It is reported that the cause maybe linked to a terrorist group." The computer noted as a frown formed on Tabane's face.

"That explains the damage at least, though not why he can pilot an I.S. and that girl is an I.S. representative~? Hm~?" Tabane was mulling the situation over in her head as Max and Alexis continued to talk on screen.

" _So how long do you think the refitting will take?"_ Alexis asked as her brother was experimentally flexing his claws with, she noted, a dangerous smile on his face.

" _If I had to guess, probably ten minutes or even more. Though the way that sound is getting louder so I don't think we have ten minutes."_ Max said as he looked up to the area above him.

The camera fed was picking up a blasting sound coming from the ceiling of the underground tunnel that could only be the sound of a laser cutting through the concreate.

"They seem to be in trouble mother." Chloe stated as she gave an impassive look to the monitor.

"Yep, yep~ Seems like it~ But that's no good~! I want this Max boy to meet Ikk-kun and make friends with him~!" Tabane exclaimed as she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Computer, bypass-" _"Storm Hawk or whatever your name is right now. I want you to prioritize refitting yourself for defense and speed and at all possible rework the previous Aero Control System with an Active Camoe System."_ Unknowingly interrupting Tabane, Max had ask the I.S. to refit itself to specifications he seemed to deem necessary at the moment.

"My, oh my~ How demanding huh Ku-chan~?" "Yes. Given the situation they seem to be currently in, this Max is surprisingly calm and collected. Not to mention able to think and adapt on the fly with ease." Chloe answered her mother as her golden eyes narrowed a bit at the screen.

"Right, right~? Even if he is in an I.S. he should know he's in quite the pickle yet he's acting all cool like he knows what he's doing and asked stuff like give me invisibility if it's not too much trouble~? Well, going by the equipment that was installed on Storm Hawk it shouldn't be that hard to for the I.S. to answer his request~ I mean it is based off of the technology he invented after all~" Tabane responded as she looked over the data she had on Storm Hawk that her computer provided.

Indeed, the same technology that allowed Storm Hawk to manipulate air currents was based off of Max's design for an active cameo system he invented and built but on a larger scale given the one he invented for the science fair could only bend the light around a can.

By using the nano-machines, electromagnetic field that controlled them and the I.S. own 360 degree optics system it was possible to make the I.S. invisible by changing the nano-machines function from manipulating air currents to manipulating photons of light and then using the 360 degree optic system to project what was behind the I.S. to give the allusion nothing was there.

Normally this on the fly modification would be impossible for any other machine but thankfully he was in the I.S., the most advance piece of technology on the planet that was able to adapt and evolve continuously so long as it had the resources to adapt and evolve with.

And since it had other armaments to cannibalize parts such as the Equalizers it was completely possible. However-

[Acknowledged. Refitting to specifications underway. Projected time of completion: Two minutes. However a stealth mode equipment has been rejected.] The I.S. displayed on Max's HUD allowing both Tabane and Chloe to see the update as well.

"Thought it might do that~/ _Thought you would say that."_ Tabane and Max echoed at the same time as the prompt for the stealth mode came up.

" _What do you mean Max_ /Mother?" Alexis and Chloe asked in tandem.

"Well, let's let Max tell us shall we~?" Tabane said with a smile as she laid back in her chair and ate some more popcorn.

" _You know how an I.S. can reject certain equipment if it's not to their liking right? Storm Hawk is just like you in regards to how it likes operates. Straight forward and no underhanded tricks. Nothing more underhanded then invisibility in combat right."_ Max rhetorical stated as he looked at the palm of his metal hand.

" _But Storm Hawk I need you to listen."_ Max began to plead to the I.S. as he balled his hand into a fist.

"Oh~? Now this is interesting~"

" _I need to get Alexis and me out of here and the only way to do that is with a stealth mode to sneak pass the enemy. I know you're like my sister and want a straight up fight but we can't fight them here. They have crippled your attack power greatly and have a plan to capture you and my sister, your true pilot and I don't want that to happen."_

" _Max, what are you…?"_ Alexis questioned as she heard her brothers desperate pleads. Sure she knew I.S. had something akin to artificial personalities and even A.I. but there was never any evidence you could talk to one much less reason with it.

" _Storm Hawk please. I'm begging you to help us."_ Max begged as he closed his eyes.

[…Reprioritizing stealth mode configuration and fitting. Recalculating completion of refitting without accounting for other specifications…] _"Thank you…"_ Max whispered a sigh of relief as Tabane grew a big smile on her weirdly cute face for someone her age.

"Ku-chan did you see that~?! He talked his I.S. into doing something for him~! What a lady killer huh, getting a girl to do whatever he wants~? Oh, I can't wait get them to come here so I can properly gather data on him~!" Tabane said as she jumped up and down in her chair all giddy with anticipation and joy for this boy who was quickly becoming one of the few people she liked in this world.

Tapping away at her research chairs keyboards, Tabane had her computer help out with the I.S. reconfigurations and got the refitting down to about two minutes.

"Hm, seems I won't be able to rush it anymore then this for him or run the risk of undermining the stealth modes performance~" Tabane stated as she put a hand under her chin as a thought occurred to her.

"Which reminds me, why did I never invent an active cameo system before for myself before~? It be a lot easier glomp on Chi-chan and Houki-chan like that I think." Tabane muttered to herself as Chloe directed her attention to the upper part of the monitor.

"Mother. The enemy is about to reach them." Chloe said in a passive voice as she pointed towards the ceiling shown on screen.

* * *

The ceiling was turning into a shade of bright red as the sound of the laser cutting through continued to get louder.

Seeing this themselves, Max willed his wings to dematerialize as he pushed Alexis and himself behind the destroyed limbo to give themselves a few more precious seconds of cover as he waited for the refitting to finish.

About thirty seconds passed before the laser drill finale cut through the ceiling and releasing the dust that built up from it cutting through about one hundred feet of concreate causing Alexis to cover her eyes and cover her face with her shirt and hands.

A few seconds later Max could see, with help of the I.S., six soldiers decked out in gas masked and black standard military gear had jump down and had surveyed the area in short order.

One of them had yell "Clear!" and another few seconds later a woman in what looked to be a modified Uchigane model I.S. had descended from the hole above.

Seeing her looking about, Max could see the woman train her sights on the limbo as the obvious place for their target to hide. Placing a laser reticle on the target for her men to follow in the dust, the leader ordered her men to fan out about the target and move in.

'Refitting done in ten seconds' Storm Hawk reported as Max grabbed a nearby rock.

The soldiers moved in with cautious steps as all of their guns were trained on the destroyed limbo.

"Hold!" The woman commanded as her men all stopped dead in their tracks.

[Five seconds]

"Open fire!" The woman yelled as all the soldiers started to rip apart what little remained of the limbo.

[Three seconds]

Max kept himself square in between Alexis and the hail of gun fire as he held her in a firm grip and a metal clawed hand over her mouth to help stifle her understandable fears.

[I.S. refitting complete. Stealth mode now available.] As he read the readout on his HUD, the hail of bullets ceased as they all began to reload.

'Right then.' With his chance in sight Max tossed the rock to the far right side of himself to draw the next onslaught of bullets.

As the rock hit the ground Max saw some of the soldiers turn their heads to the sound but were halted from taking action by their leader.

"It's a trick! Keep your guns forward and fire!"/ "Muerte Haze!"

Masking his voice command under the woman's voice Max activated the stealth mode that spread over Alexis and he as he jumped out from the back of the destroyed limbo and made a B-line to the hole.

"Fire!" The woman ordered again as her men let lose another salvo of bullets.

Jumping over the soldier's fire and landing behind them Max notice their leader could still hear his landing as he saw her eyes turn towards him in surprise.

"What?!" 'Shit.' Not missing a beat Max jumped on top of her shoulders and activated his flight mode.

"Ah?! How?!" The woman felt Max's weight push off of her I.S. and turned her head to see Max stealth mode deactivate and his anti-gravity wings appear.

Being right below him as Max jetted up the hole, the woman was blasted back by the shockwave of his acceleration and was knocked to the ground despite the bulk of her own I.S.

"Ma'am?!" "You little shit!" Not letting her subordinates concern stop her, Anna got up and followed after Max.

Coming out of the hole in about five seconds she looked about and saw the door to the basement of the building they were in opened. Crashing her way through the door way destroying it, Anna looked up the stairway only to see no one on it.

"God dammit! You aren't getting away!" With a shrill scream Anna barreled through the metal stairwell up to the first floor.

Destroying the first floor door to the basement as well Anna looked about again only to see no one as even more rage started to well up and boil over inside her.

"Arrrahaggg!" Sending her fist into the nearby concrete wall, her I.S. enclosed fist effortlessly went through it like it was paper.

The I.S. she was in couldn't pick up anything from the target when they were in their stealth mode. It didn't give off any unique energy signals and the only reason she realized the target was in a stealth mode before was because of the sound it made and the weight she felt kick off of her.

Now that their target got above ground there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell she was going to be able to track it safely even if the stealth mode had a heavy energy cost and was only temporary.

For one thing, she herself didn't have a stealth mode so she couldn't just go out in broad daylight and try to track the target. Not to mention that her I.S. was designed for suppression and CQC, not to chase after one of the fastest I.S. every designed.

"Fuck. This mission was a total wash." Turning towards the back entrance of the building to get the I.S. loaded in the truck out back, Anna radioed to her squad below.

"Men! It looks like the intel was fucked from the start. The little shit had active cameo built in to her I.S. and got away. Get your asses back up here as soon as you can and let's get out of here. We'll need to lay low for a while." Anna said with an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, ma'am! We will be up as soon as we can! So vodka or gin for this one boss?" Her second in command asked as he knew this failure would mean his commander would want be blitz for the next few hours to hopefully forget this royal cock-up of a mission.

"Both. And make it doubles. Over and out." Anna replied as she ended the call.

"And now we got to be wary of Phantom Task as well. Not to mention the cash we poured into this mission was a waste… Just fucking great." Mumbling to herself about her latest woes, Anna exited the building and started loading the I.S.

Unbeknownst to her, two teenagers came out from the hole she made of the basements doorway and went out the front door.

* * *

"So what now?" Alexis asked as she and Max were running as far away from the building as they could.

They have been running for about twenty minutes now going down a few blocks and then ducking in and out of back alleys.

"Actually, I'm surprised any of that worked! So, uh… I guess call up mom and-" Before Max could finish he was interrupted by the ringing of his phone in his pocket.

"Oh, hold that thought." As Max fished out his phone, Alexis and he slowed down to a halt in some random alley way.

Looking around and seeing no one was but them was around, Max put the phone to his ear and answered.

"Hel-?" "HIHIHIHIHI~~~!" Max quickly got the phone away from his ear at the sound of high pitch squealing coming from his phone.

"Who the hell?!" Alexis cried out beside him as she could hear the woman's voice as well.

"Hey, Hey, Hey, Maxy~?! This is Tabane Shinononooooooo~~~! And do I have a surprise for you~!" The now identified caller stated as Max and Alexis eyes tried to pop out of their heads.

"Besides the one of you calling me Ms. Shinonono?!" Max cried out as he put the phone on speaker mode so he wouldn't go deaf from the bubbly woman's voice.

"Yep, Yep, Yep~! I know this is, like, totally the best day of your life right now going by your internet history of me-~!" "What about my/his internet history?!" Both siblings echoed, Max in embarrassment and Alexis in shock, as Tabane continued.

"But let's make it even better and let me kidnap you and take you to my private island~~~!"

"Wait?! What?!" Alexis and Max cry in synch as they heard a whistling sound from above making them look up…

And promptly got out of the way!

*BOOooommm~ Krkrkrkrk*

As the dust began to settle, Alexis and Max saw, incomprehensibly, a giant carrot shaped missile embed itself into the asphalt ground where they were standing but moments ago, making rather large and scary cracks that bloomed outward across the whole alley and even underneath their feet.

"Well, without further ado-~!" Tabane voiced began as the carrot shaped missile made a hissing noise as its doors opened revealing itself to actually be a pod that looked built for one person.

"Let the kidnapping commence~~~!"

On cue, a dozen robotic arms shoot out towards Max, wrapping around him and began to pull him in.

"Max!" Crying out as she instinctively grabbed on to her brothers arms, Alexis tried to feebly pull him free but just ended up getting grabbed by the mechanical arms as well as Tabane's voice came over the phone sounding a little less peppy then before.

"Well, I guess I should take you as well just so America doesn't cry about losing one of their cores…" Tabane finished offhandly as she directed her usually cheery voice back to Max.

"Oh~~~! I can't wait for you to come here Maxy~! I can start running experiments on you and your I.S. core~! Then I can call Chi-chan and, Oh~! I can't wait for you to meet Ik-kun and Houki-chan ~! EEEEeeeeeeyyyyyyyy~! This is going to be so much fun Maxy~! You'll love it at the I.S. Academy~!" Ending with a squeal and promises of things to come, Max could't help but look dumbfounded at the phone being held up by one of the mechanical arms as words flowed naturally from his lips

"…You really are as insane as I thought you would be… I think I love you…" Max murmured out in a dazed sort of voice.

"HUH/Eh~?!"

Both girls stated their confusion as the arms pulled both of the Valdez siblings into the carrot pod as the doors closed with a loud *thunk*, making both of them feeling like sardines in a can.

With its passengers safely (for the most part) onboard, the carrot shaped pod began to shake violently as more of the asphalt ground began to crack and shake.

Until, with a burst of dust, debris and noise, the rocket completely shattered the asphalt ground as it ascended into the heavens making an arc westward to the Pacific Ocean.

* * *

"…Love…?" Ichika couldn't help by slip out as he tried to connect the idea of someone, of sound mind, who would want to romantically pursue Tabane in any fashion.

Now true, she is an amazing person. That he would never deny. But after learning how she really acted and seeing the side of her that, to his knowledge, only about three people (and now Max it seems) know about. He had a hard time believing Max would ever say he loved her.

Heck, Max even admitted that he expected (or perhaps hoped?) that Tabane was insane and he still said those words!

"Ehehehe…well, you know how cute she looks and can act sometimes, plus she is an amazing person and all so, yeah. I guess you could say love at first sight, ehehehe…" Max scratched at his reddening checks as he tried not to look Ichika directly in his stupefied eyes.

"Well, I can get that but still she **IS** insane and **IS** a worldwide wanted person so…well forget it. I guess you can love whoever you want." Ichika stated as he put on a refreshing smile.

'And yeah, I guess Tabane can be cute sometime, in her own way.' Ichika thought to himself.

* * *

'!?'

In two separate places, Tabane and Chifuyu had chills run up their spines.

For the former it was a bit pleasant and gave off a kind and gentle vibe, similar to Ik-kun now that she thought about it.

"Oh, so I guess Maxy and Ik-kun are talking about me~! Well, aren't I Miss Popular~!" Tabane said as she cupped her smiling face.

"Oh, but wait~! Ik-kun **IS** Houki-chan's so I can't rightly tempt him now can I~?! Bad Tabane~! Bad~! No trying to steal Houki-chan's crush~! Oh~! But I guess Maxy is fine, though maybe I should wait till he's a bit older before I try anything with him…" Tabane began to mutter cutely to herself as Chloe looked over at her adopted mother and her antics and showed the barest hint of a smile.

Now as for the latter…

'What is this?!' Chifuyu thought with mix feelings of horror and the server need to protect Ichika (or beat some sense into him, she couldn't tell sometimes as both went hand in hand for most situations) for some reason.

"Orimura-sensei? Is something wrong?" "Orimura-sensei?" Beside her, Alexis Valdez and Maya Yamada asked in concern as Chifuyu visibly faulted in her previously normal stride, going so far as to hold her head in what seemed like pain to them.

"Ah, no. No it's nothing. And Alexis, I believe your brother is with my own right now. Though what they are talking about…" Chifuyu began to mumble to herself as she informed Alexis and Maya.

"Yeah, figured as much. But I didn't think he would wander around by himself in case he got caught by some other girl." Alexis replied a bit curious of what Chifuyu was mumbling about.

"No, I believe Tabane might have given Max Ichika's location beforehand for what I assume a meet and greet between the worlds only known male pilots." Chifuyu supplemented a bit after being stirred from her musings.

"She probably thought it natural that they get to know each other as soon as Max got here. Anyway I… I think it will be fine to let them just hang out for a while. Ichika doesn't have much time these days to talk to other boys his age so… Excuse me Maya, Alexis. I have to make a call." Chifuyu stated as she began to walk away without waiting for a reply.

'What did you put in that boy's head Tabane?' Chifuyu thought with annoyance as she made walk off to call said mad scientist.

"What's bugging Orimura-sensei, Yamada-sensei?"

"I, I don't know exactly. But it should be fine for now. Why don't you run along now and catch up to your brother Alexis. Oh, and hand him his class schedule as well if you could!"

"Will do." Alexis called back with said schedule in hand, making her way over to her brother as she remembered the room number Ichika's was due to the stir it caused on his first day.

* * *

"So Max, what exactly did Tabane do to you when you got to her island?" Ichika asked with a bit of hesitation as he could think up a few grim things the mad woman Tabane could do to a person.

"Hm? Oh, well when we touched down we were thrown out of the pod by the metal arms. My sister on to the ground and me into the waiting arms of Tabane who then preceded to swing me around and around repeating the phrase "You're here~! You're here~!" Then she dragged me to some lab room with medical equipment where she snapped her fingers and somehow my cloths got dematerialized as she asked me to lay down in a MRI scanner like thing as she began to go over my body." Max said in a matter of fact tone.

Ichika for his part seemed to finally begin to get used to the crazy stuff that has entered his life as he showed a much more controlled reaction as he also kinda figured that would happen given Tabane's personality, though-

"You were okay with her stripping you naked?"

"Yeah."

"…Okay than…continue."

"Well, she found out about my condition in short order and gave me the details about what having an I.S. core as a heart would be like and then told me she would be downloading Storm Hawk's A.I. and the date it had into a different I.S. core she had around so the United States wouldn't freak out about losing a core while also helping me develop a fully functional version of my own I.S. and it's A.I.! Do you know how awesome it was to work with her?! I mean I was working with The Tabane Shinonono on my very own I.S. and it wasn't a dream!" Max finished with a declaration of joy as he threw his arms into the air and flopped back onto the bed he was on.

"You really like Tabane's work don't you?" Ichika asked with a smile as he could guess what it's must feel like to meet ones ideal and to even work with them too.

"It was the best summer vacation I had. We worked on my I.S., I got to talk to her about her past and what motivated her do build the I.S., hang out on her beach and play in the sea with her and Ku-chan-" Listing off the stuff he did Ichika picked up on the new name Max mentioned.

"Ku-chan?"

"Oh, right. Uh, wasn't supposed to mention her. Well, since it's you I guess it's fine if I just tell you who she is. Ku-chan or more specifically Chloe is Tabane's adopted daughter that she picked up somewhere in Europe I think."

"Wait? Daughter?! Tabane should never try being a mother! It would be a detriment to the child's psych!" Ichika stood up with a worried shout as he couldn't even pretend to think Tabane would make a good mother.

"Oh ah, don't worry about that. She's around the same age as us and in all honesty she's the one taking care of Tabane. Making sure she remembers to eat, bath and sleep properly. Doesn't go too overboard with the experimenting that it could end the world and is able to reel in some of Tabane's more… eccentric thoughts or traits." Max finished with a bit of a strained voice.

Ichika for his part was relieved to know that it was less likely any actually children of Tabane would be born as he doesn't think his sister could handle the stress of knowing that more than one Tabane existed in this word.

"Hue, man don't scare me like that. I was going to have a hearted attack or something. Not to mention my sister-"

"Oh! You mean Chifuyu Orimura?! Ah, man! I always wanted to meet her! Man I hope I'm in her class." Max begins to daydream as Ichika could only stare and sweet drop a bit.

"Well, classes won't be starting for a few more days so how about I show you around the city or-ah wait. It might be trouble if anyone see's you while were on campus though not many people are-"

"Oh. Don't worry about that Ichika." Max said as he tapped a finger on to his chest.

"Remember what my I.S. can do?" Max says with a smirk as he wraps an arm around Ichika.

"Activate, Infinite Stratos!"

* * *

Authors Notes: Just some exposition for now so we can get it out of the way before we move on to the meet and greets for the girls proper and some other characters coming soon.

There will be a little exposition next chapter but it's just because I felt this one was running long and decided to break it up a bit.

Short notes this time as I don't know what else to say except look forward to next chapter!


End file.
